This invention relates to travel trailers and more particularly to a travel trailer arranged for fifth wheel towing connection having folding walls for expanding to full height the foreshortened forward section of the trailer.
In order to increase the length and weight of travel trailers of the type towed by light-weight pickup trucks, fifth wheel connections have been utilized, positioning the forward section of the trailer over the bed of the truck. As a result the forward section is foreshortened vertically, providing only limited usable living space.
To maximize this forward space the roofs of these trailers have been raised slightly in the area of the forward section, allowing for a climb-up bed to be located in this section. However, the lower forward portion of the trailer is still not usable, thereby requiring location of the living room area at the rear of the trailer, rather than at the front where it is most desired. Further, the raised height increases drag and instability of the trailer which are already critical in large travel trailers. Also, the stepped roof increases construction cost of the trailer.
Telescoping front sections have been devised for extending this foreshortened front section to full height. Such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,297. However, telescoping walls are expensive to fabricate and of complex operation. Thus such trailers are initially expensive and are costly to maintain. In addition accommodation of the telescoping mechanism requires thick walls resulting in loss of inside floor space as well as adding to the weight of the trailer and lessening the rigidity of its front end. Curtains, pictures and similar articles also must be removed from the walls of a telescoping type trailer before it may be collapsed.